Surrender by Tawny Taylor Page A

and the air was heavy with the scents of wet concrete and auto exhaust. I inhaled deeply as I was escorted to a waiting car.
    As I buckled in, I turned to Kameron and smiled through my guilt. “I’m sorry I blamed you.”
    “Don’t worry. I would’ve believed the same thing. Especially after the rough start we had.” He set his hand on my knee and gave it a tiny squeeze. Little warm ripples of pleasure swept through my body at the touch. My gaze jerked to his hand, and in the next second, he snatched it away. “I promise you, I won’t ever touch you inappropriately again. I was wrong to do that in the first place. I’ve never done anything like that before.”
    The rumors suggested otherwise.
    So did his history with me.
    There I go again, second-guessing him. Doubting him.
    Unsure how I felt about his promise, I smiled and nodded and tried to ignore the waves of need pulsing through me.
    It was going to be pure hell working so closely with this man now. Absolute torture.

7
    E leven thousand dollars. Eleven freaking thousand dollars. That’s how much money Kameron had spent today. On me. Not by my choice, either. I’d given up a damn good fight, trying to dissuade him from spending so much. I’d begged, pleaded, demanded, threatened to quit. He ignored my begging, pleading, and demanding. As far as my threat to quit went, he warned me if I quit he’d hunt me down and drag me back to work.
    There was absolutely no stopping him.
    At the end of our shopping extravaganza, I had a mountain of new clothes and shoes. All of them gorgeous. A few of them terribly expensive. The bags were crammed in the trunk of the car, and exhausted, I flopped into the backseat with Kameron. My eyelids were heavy. My eyes were gritty, as if someone had dumped a bucket of sand in them.
    I yawned.
    “I shouldn’t have kept you out so late,” he said, lifting an arm to drape it across my seat back.
    “I’m okay. Just sleepy.”
    He pulled me against him, cupping my head and forcing it to the side so it rested on his shoulder. Immediately, those waves of warmth started pulsing through me again.
    Would they ever stop? And how would I ever be just his administrative assistant if he was going to continue to touch me, hold me, pull me closer to him?
    Now that he’d promised not to hold me to our agreement, I didn’t have a reason to find a new job . . . or did I?
    “Rest,” he ordered.
    Fighting to ignore the desire building inside my body, I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. Slowly. Deep inhalation. Slow exhalation. In. Out.
    I felt my body growing heavy.
    He pulled me tighter against him, and I could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. His body heat warmed me, and a sleepy contentment spread through me.
    This was so nice. I felt protected and safe. More than I’d ever felt in my life.
    I’d always been the caregiver in our family. Me. I’d been the shoulder my brother had leaned on. It was so nice having someone for me to lean on for once. Really nice.
    A tiny moan of contentment slipped from my lips.
    “Are you okay?” he asked. The low rumble of his voice vibrated through my body.
    “Yes. I’m fine. I’m good.”
    “Excellent.”
    The car pulled to a stop. Kameron gave my shoulder a little shake. “See there? It’s the Empire State Building.”
    I turned toward him, following his motion as he pointed out his window.
    “The architecture—” His head swiveled. He froze.
    We were nose to nose.
    Mere inches separated our mouths.
    My gaze was locked to his.
    It felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the car. I pulled in a little gasp. It wasn’t enough.
    His head tipped closer, closer.
    Ohmygod. I held my breath. My heart started pounding. My eyelids fell over my sleepy eyes.
    His lips found mine, lingered, barely touching. The contact was so light it tickled. I quivered.
    “Abigail,” he whispered, his breath a soft caress that made tiny, sharp blades of need pierce my